MK Party awaits directive from Zuma on way forward

MK Party leader Jacob Zuma will give a directive on the next steps of who will stand for parliament from the party's crop of little-known people and those with a chequered history.

With Zuma out, Sophonia Tsekedi, 64, now tops the MK Party list that was submitted to the IEC.

Tsekedi owns a funeral parlour, Tsekedi Funeral Services, in Protea South and was president of the All African Alliance Movement (AAAM) when he publicly endorsed the MK Party in January.

In October 2022, AAAM, which claimed to have about 250,000 signed members at the time, made headlines by officially endorsing former chief justice Mogoeng Mogoeng as its presidential candidate. AAAM's secretary-general Bishop Meshack Tebe is also part of the top 20 of the MK Party list. 

Tsekedi is also president of the All African Federation of Churches, an association of churches.

On Monday, the highest court in the land ruled that Zuma was not eligible to be a member of parliament and not qualified to stand for election into the National Assembly until five years have lapsed because he had previously been convicted of an offence and sentenced to more than 12 months' imprisonment. 

Speaking to the media outside court, MK Party secretary-general Sihle Ngubane said the party was disappointed at the ruling but said Zuma was still in charge and that he would give the party a directive.

"Jacob Zuma will give us a directive of what is next going forward, but we are still comfortable that he is still the leader of the party and will take the decision and give us as the executive what is the next step and direction going forward," said Ngubane.

Among those candidates will be Des van Rooyen, who in 2016 was dubbed "The Weekend Special Minister" following his appointment as minister of finance which only lasted four days after then president Zuma controversially fired Nhlanhla Nene.

Visvin Reddy, ninth on MK Party's national candidate list, was last month charged with incitement of violence and appeared in court in KZN after a video emerged in which he threatened violence if the party or Zuma were removed from the ballot due to Zuma’s conviction and effective 15-month imprisonment for contempt of court. 

He is due to return to court next month.

Reddy was previously associated with the ANC and is now a councillor for the African Democratic Change in eThekwini. He had previously had affiliations with the DA and Minority Front.

Zuma's daughter Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla, who has been her father’s right-hand person since he moved from the ANC to join the MK Party in December, is 18th on the party's list.

Number 10 on the list is businessman Joel Ngubane, former husband of human settlements minister Mmamoloko Kubayi. Before their split in 2021, Ngubane was accused of using his wife's status as the minister of science and technology to get a R11m tender in the North West legislature. The couple denied the allegations and Ngubane has since sold the company linked to the tender. 

Goodwill Kgatle, 49, is an ambitious man with six business entities registered in his name in Diepkloof which have almost non-existent online presence except for Ithemba Lentsha Skills Development Institute, which only has an old Facebook account which last posted in October 2015.

His social media accounts further reveal him as a man with a penchant for luxury cars as he could be seen posing in several sports cars and selfies with celebrities.

His affiliation with Zuma started years before the existence of the MK Party. Some of his social media posts show him posing with Zuma's affiliates such as Van Rooyen, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma and Ace Magashule.

Number 15 on the list is David Mandla Skosana, who is former public protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane's husband. Last year, Skosana accused ANC MPs Pemmy Majodina and Richard Dyantyi of attempting to solicit a bribe from him.

Skosana had alleged that the late Tina Joemat-Pettersson tried to solicit a bribe from him on behalf of Majodina and Dyantyi to influence the outcome of the section 194 committee into the fitness of Mkhwebane to hold office. The two MPs have since been cleared.  

Sowetan's company search shows that Skosana owns 11 companies which include Golden Waters Mining and Transport, Landiwe Security and Projects, Loxispace and Ziyakara Auctioneers, among others.  

At number 14 on the list is Moses Sipho Mbatha, who was an EFF MP in the National Assembly and was part of the portfolio committee on higher education and training. He also served on the economic development committee.  

The list also includes other little-known individuals such as Musawenkosi Mhlabuhlangene Gasa, Zwelakhe Elija Mthethwa, Augastina Qwetha, Mandlenkosi James Matutu and Morongwe Mary Phadi, the president of Truckers in South Africa.